So what do softeners do:
The basic understanding of a softener is to remove certain metal ions within the water (Calcium, Magnesium and others).
Why would we want to do this:
There are multiple reasons to do this depending on the application you want to use it for.
Scale: The main reason that people buy softeners for their house is due to Scaling on taps, heat generation equipment (boilers) and surfaces. When the calcium is removed from the water it is replaced with sodium, this means that when water evaporates it will not leave behind those dreaded water marks that take time and money to clean.
Luxury: Owning a water softer is a luxury experience and can make the water physically feel softer, also you do not need to use the same quantity of shampoo, shower gel etc. that you would usually use.
Economy: If you are producing water you do not require the same quantity of cleaning material. This is very common in dry cleaning and industry's where dishwashers are key, especially when it comes to washing glasses. The removal of scale stops glass from becoming watermarked saving money on replacements and expensive dishwasher fluids/tablets.
Do I need a water softener:
This can depend as a large portion of areas already have ideally soft/softened water. If you check your local water providers website you can usually get a report that will tell you how hard your water is. If you have 80 ppm (mg/l) or less then a softener is not necessary a requirement for you as this is idealistic water quality already. Anything above this is the ideal conditions for an install.
You can always test your water quality yourself by buying a water test kit especially for calcium, this usually involves putting droplets into water until it changes color (more often than not 1 drop = 10 ppm).
Different types of water softener:
Manual water softener: These softeners require no electrical connection and are fed from the mains pressure
Semi automatic water softener: These are the same as the manual application although they will regenerate based on time i.e. (every other night) so your salt consumption may be higher with this installation.
Fully automatic water softener: They have a water meter installed that will check how much water is being used and regenerate based on that. You can get systems with both a timer and a meter, so if you want the unit to only regenerate at night you can set this up after a sum of water has passed through the unit.
So, do I need a water softener:
From my professional opinion, yes, these machines will keep you household equipment from breaking and keep your surfaces cleaner.
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